Strandby, Denmark

Just now, as I was sitting down to write this I had to pull out our itinerary because I could not remember the name of the town we are in. I think that's a sure sign that we're coming to the end of our journey. Tomorrow we're heading to Copenhagen, which is our final stop. Strandby has been great! It's a beautiful small, fishing town towards the northern tip of Denmark. Everybody rides a bike and seems to know everybody else in the town. The Methodist church here is the biggest in Denmark with 200 members. When we got here we were greeted at the church by a large group of people- mostly young people. We had dinner together and played some get-to-know-you games. We ended the evening with a brief evening prayer service. Danish people can sing and the acoustics in the church are amazing so it was beautiful. We've stayed with host families here. My host family has been wonderful! We've had breakfast together every morning outside in a greenhouse that's been turned into a beautiful sunroom. Most Danish people can speak English so communicating has been easy. Yesterday we stuck around Strandby and got to know the church and the town. We visited a couple of the fish places, and got to see how the fish are prepared for packaging from the time they are pulled out of the water. Perhaps it was more than some of us wanted to see, but it was great getting to see the industry that is the staple of the town. Most of the people here work at one of the companies, and some in the church own a couple of them. After a traditional Danish lunch (which was good and I'm glad I tried it, but not my favorite), we went to Fredrikshaven to visit a World War II museum. We also got to try Danish ice cream, which was delicious. Then we went to the grocery store to get food for a cross-cultural dinner. The Americans were to cook traditional American food and the Danes, Danish food. This stressed me out at first because I don't like being prepared, but the team is great and together we came up with mac n cheese, bbq chicken, and salad. It was fun cooking it together and the final product was very good! It was really neat though, having us each cook our foods and try it and share fellowship together. We had quite a feast. The dinner conversation was quite interesting as well. One of the pastors and I talked about the state of the church here, the UMC in Russia, and ministry in this part of the world. I have been amazed this whole trip at the amount of programs for children and the lack of programs for adults, and the pastor pointed out that it's because our culture is so different. Here, when children are 10 they are expected to be able to get places on their own, through public transportation, etc. So it's easy to do ministry for children and youth. We don't have that luxury in the States so it makes sense for us to offer an equal amount of programs for children, youth, and adults. I just hadn't thought about that until last night. Anyway, learning about more of the political things involved in having a state church and what that does to ministry for other denominations has been very interesting. I've really enjoyed the aspect of this trip, of learning different cultures. There's still much to chew on and reflect upon. Anyway, after dinner we had taize worship, which I had the pleasure of participating in. It was a beautiful service and much appreciated. After going, going, going for so long, it was a blessing to sing, sit in silence, and simply worship. It was a perfect way to end our day. 

Today we drove about 40 kilometers north to Skagan. There we went to the farthest north point in Denmark, where the Baltic Sea and North Sea meet. It was very cool walking out to the tip and seeing to two seas meet with waves in different directions. Skagan is a very beautiful, very touristy town. There were people walking and riding bikes everywhere. I think that's one thing I'm going to miss- walking everywhere and seeing tons of other people out walking to get places. We got to walk around some of the shops after lunch. There was a music festival going on so it felt a bit like home when we heard Johnny Cash and Billy Joe Shaver being sung. Skagan is a town famous for it's art. We went to an art gallery of Denmark's most famous artists, Anna and Michael Ancher. They were famous for painting pictures of local people, doing local things. I could have spent a lot more time in there had I not been so tired. The art was beautiful. When we got back to Strandby we had some down time, which was much needed. We had a lovely dinner tonight at a couple's house with the other young adults in the church. One of the girls went on the caravan twice in 2000 and 2002 so it was fun talking to her and seeing pictures of the places she went in NC. And now I'm thankful to have gotten back earlier this evening. We've got a long train ride tomorrow to Copenhagen. Not sure what's in store for us there, but there's a lot I'm hoping we get to see. 

I think as a team, we're all starting to realize that in only a few more days we won't see each other much and it's kind of sad. I'm ready to get back to life, but we've become a family (however dysfunctional we may be) and there's a lot we're going to miss about being together. The closer we get, though, the more we talk about home and what we're going to do when we get back. I just pray everybody has gotten what they wanted out of this experience, and for the most part, I think they have. Well I don't want to start reflecting too much on the whole experience because we have Copenhagen yet to experience; and I'm sure I'll be reflecting on all this for weeks and months after we get home. Prayers for safe travel over the next few days, and especially on Monday when we come home, are much appreciated. Stayed tuned, though, because the posts aren't over. Thanks for following!

Peace,

Katie